Give Me Strength
by Gryph
Summary: McKay/Sheppard Slash (non-explicit)—if you don't like, don't read. McKay and Sheppard crash on an unknown planet. Both are injured, and need to stay awake until help can arrive. This is what that conversation might look like. Dialogue-only fic.


"McKay!"

"…"

"Damn it, Rodney, open your eyes!"

"Hmm?"

"Stay with me here. Open those baby blues for me."

"Hurts, John."

"I know it hurts, but you _have_ to stay awake."

"Why?"

"Because you're going into shock. But as soon as the rescue team gets here, Carson will fix you right up. You just need to hang on until they get here."

"What if they don't come?"

"Elizabeth doesn't leave people behind. Not even you, Rodney."

"Oh, ha ha."

"The jumper crash will be easy to spot. They'll find us."

"What if they don't?"

"They will."

"But what if they don't?"

"They will! Geez, Rodney, can't you have a little faith?"

"Mmm."

"Oh no you don't. Open your eyes. No falling asleep on me."

"Hey! What did you just inject me with?"

"A simulant."

"Should you really be injecting me with random medications? You aren't a doctor!"

"The med kit is labeled, and all the syringes are preloaded with the correct dosage. You didn't object when I gave you the pain meds."

"Well, at that moment, I was a little distracted by the pain from being _impaled_!"

"How's your pain level now?"

"Hmm. Tolerable. How's your head?"

"I'll be fine. It's not deep, but scalp wounds always bleed like a mother. But that's another reason I need _you_ to stay awake, to help keep _me_ awake in case I have a concussion."

"If you want me to stay awake, keep me talking."

"Good idea. So, Rodney, I'm going to give you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here. Explain the physics of the stargate to me."

"Sorry, not going to spend my last hour in a pointless exercise in futility."

"Okay, first of all, don't be melodramatic. This is not your last hour."

"Don't try and sugar coat it, John! I've got a piece of conduit the size of a Titan missile sticking through my side, and I'm bleeding like a sieve."

"A Titan missile? It's a one-inch pipe! And the pressure of the conduit is actually slowing the bleeding. It's not that bad. Second, are you saying that I'm incapable of understanding how the stargate works? I think I'm insulted."

"Oh please. Your eyes glaze over if I even _mention_ the word 'physics'."

"Weeeell, that's because you have a tendency to bring it up at the most _inconvenient_ times. Not exactly romantic pillow talk, you know."

"Maybe not for you. Hmph. Some of us find that kind of talk…well…stimulating."

"I'll keep that in mind for the future."

"John—."

"Rodney, you are not going to die today."

"That's _not_ what I was going to say."

"Okay, what were you going to say?"

"No. It was something nice, but now you are just mocking me."

"I'm not mocking you; I'm trying to be…reassuring."

"Well, it sounds like mocking."

"Oh, come on."

"Especially when you roll your eyes like that!"

"All right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mock you."

"Thank you."

"Now, what were you going to say?"

"I was going to say you deserve to be happy….so if you, y'know, find someone new after I'm gone, I won't be angry."

"McKay!"

"Face it, John—!"

"Shh!"

"Don't shush me, Sheppard!"

"Shut up! I think I heard something!"

"Where are you going? Don't leave me here!"

"I'll be right back."

"…"

"…"

"Oh, thank god you're back."

"Rodney, I was gone for two minutes."

"Really? It felt a lot longer than that. What did you see? Is it the Wraith?"

"Calm down. It was just some of the local wildlife wandering by. Nothing that looked particularly dangerous. There's no reason to expect the Wraith to be here. Their ship was destroyed."

"Yeah, right after they _shot us down_. We got off a distress call back to Atlantis. How do we know they didn't call for help as well?"

"I didn't detect any transmissions from the Wraith ship. Look, it'll take a jumper four hours to get here from Atlantis. We've already been on the ground for two."

"Great. And it's getting dark. And cold."

"We'll be somewhat protected from the elements here in the jumper."

"Half a jumper. At best."

"Yeah, well, not exactly my best landing. Kinda hard to maneuver well with no engines."

"Hey, you got us down alive. That's something. Oh, don't look so shocked."

"That sounded suspiciously like a compliment."

"Well, maybe I should compliment you more often. You're a very talented pilot. And then there is that thing you do with your tongue that makes my brain dribble out my ears."

"I think I must have hit my head harder than I thought."

"See, again, I'm trying to be nice, and again with the mocking."

"It's not you, Rodney. I've just never been…comfortable with compliments. Especially from…hmm…my lover."

"Oh my god, you're blushing! Really, John, we do need to work on this puritanical nature you have."

"Well, that's a good incentive for you to pull through this then. Nothing like a good home-improvement project to keep you busy."

"Ouch! What are you doing?!"

"You were right about the temperature dropping. We need to bundle up together under the emergency blanket to conserve body heat."

"I'm all for a little cuddling, but don't jostle me! Remember, impaled by pipe?"

"Sorry. There, is that more comfortable?"

"Yeah, that's kinda nice, actually. Is there anything to eat?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. If the conduit damaged your abdominal organs, putting food into your digestive tract right now could be very, very bad."

"Oh. Right. Good call."

"How about some water? That's probably safe."

"Thanks. God, I never thought water would taste so good."

"Mmm. Yeah, that hits the spot."

"You should eat something."

"Nah, I'm good."

"…"

"What?"

"John Sheppard, are you seriously going to sit there and not eat because I can't?"

"No. That's not it at all. I'm just not hungry right now—."

"You are so full of it. And that's definitely one of the most sappy things you've ever done."

"It's only a couple more hours until our rescue will be here."

"Mmm. Comfy."

"Uh-uh, Rodney. No falling asleep. For either of us."

"Then think of something for us to talk about. And _not_ physics. If anything will put you to sleep faster than theoretical physics, I'm not sure it's been discovered yet."

"I got it! Once we get back and you have a chance to heal, how about we plan a little R&R? A nice little vacation, just the two of us?'

"And where will we take this vacation? The nearest Hilton is about three million light-years away."

"We can go to the mainland. I'm sure we can figure out how to make a nice shelter."

"Camping? Oh. Joy."

"Glamping. We'll have all the amenities. You'll like it. Find a nice beach somewhere, bask in the sun—,"

"With my fair skin? I'll burn."

"You'll wear sunscreen. C'mon, Rodney, get into the spirit here."

"Okay, okay. What else? Skinny dipping?"

"Might as well. Just going to be the two of us."

"And you'll do that thing with your tongue."

"Yes, Rodney, I'll do whatever you want. All the things you like. Maybe I'll even recite physics formulas for you."

"Haha. You're blushing again. That sounds nice…."

"What's wrong?"

"I think the pain meds are wearing off. Umph. Yeah, definitely starting to—,"

"Hang on, I'll get the med kit."

"No. I'll make me sleepy. I need to stay awake to make sure _you_ stay awake, John. Pretty sure you _are_ concussed."

"What makes you say that?"

"I got a good look at your eyes. Pretty sure your pupils are supposed to be the same size."

"Shit."

"Yeah. I can…umph…I can hang on. Just talk to me some more. And put your arms around me, I'm feeling cold."

"It's not that cold in here. But if you insist on me getting closer, I guess I'll just have to oblige. I just don't want to bump your wound again."

"Hmm."

"Rodney, don't close your eyes! You're in shock. You're in shock and I'm concussed. What a pair we make."

"Just so tired, John. Tired and cold. Wanna be warm."

"Damn it, Rodney! The team will be here any minute. Don't you dare give up on me now!"

"_Caldwell to Sheppard. Colonel Sheppard, do you read?"_

"We're here, Caldwell! We need immediate medical assistance."

"_We're going to beam you directly onto the ship, Colonel. Stand by."_

"Rodney, did you hear that? The Daedalus is here. We're going homeI"


End file.
